27 November 2018
Quit Your Way today and you could save almost £300 before Christmas.
This November we are encouraging smokers to stop smoking in the lead up to Christmas by using the free NHS Borders service Quit Your Way – with our support. This is a free service which is available to anyone living in the Borders area. One of the most convenient ways to access the service is through your local community pharmacy.
Pharmacies offer a welcoming service at a time to suit you. We know that if you receive support from someone who has been specifically trained in providing stop smoking support and that you also use a pharmacy product such as nicotine patches, you are four times more likely to successfully stop and stay stopped than if you try to quit alone.
As well as nicotine gum, patches and lozenges pharmacies can also provide access to a medication called varenicline, which is also known by its trade name champix. There are some prescribing restrictions which your pharmacist is well placed to discuss as they may also know what other medication you are currently receiving.
Stopping smoking is one of the most significant ways to improve your health and, at this time of year especially, it will also be good for your bank balance. The cost of smoking over time can be huge, for example, if a person paying £9 for a packet of 20 cigarettes a day, smokes 20 per day they are spending over £270 each month which works out at over £3,200 a year!
Tim Patterson, Joint Director of Public Health at NHS Borders and Scottish Borders Council said: “We know how difficult it can be for people trying to quit and we understand that everyone needs different kinds of support, so Quit Your Way – with our support offers a range of options to suit the individual throughout the various stages of the stop smoking process.”
Alison Wilson, Director of Pharmacy at NHS Borders said: “Your local pharmacy is one of the places you can access advice and support. The Pharmacist will be happy to discuss the range of products available and help you choose the one that’s right for you. They can also provide one to one support to help you become a non-smoker.”
Catriona Davies, Health Improvement Specialist at NHS Borders added: “You are four times more likely to stop smoking and stay stopped with help and support from an NHS stop smoking service. Last year we supported over 210 people in the Borders to successfully quit smoking for longer than three months. By highlighting the financial benefits of quitting we hope more Borderers will be smoke free this Christmas.”
If you’d like further support to stop smoking or would like more information on the NHS Borders Quit Your Way Service please pop into your local pharmacy; call one of our advisors on 01835 825971 (office hours Monday to Friday, 24 hour answer machine) or visit /patients-and-visitors/our-services/general-services/quit-your-way/